Selling to the CIO. A brief primer.

If you think it is difficult as a vendor to understand the role of the Chief Information Officer as your customer, try and imagine what it would be like to be a CIO facing a career path that can be as dynamic as the technology we are delivering.

I believe Will Rogers was looking forward to the role of today’s CIO when he said “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” The CIOs of 2016 are not in the same role as they were 5 years ago – the priorities and expertise is ever evolving and a CIO has to run just to keep up. In order to survive, the CIO now has to understand the business so well that she or he can leverage technology to differentiate their organization from its competitors.

So where does that put you as a vendor? 

I'm glad you are willing to take a break from phoning me and asking for "a few minutes of my time to understand my upcoming initiatives" and actually learn what might be productive.

You can be one of two things in my life as a CIO.

• You can help me thrive and prosper in my dynamic role, or
• You can be a huge waste of my time and cause me to think nasty thoughts about you and your colleagues.

I’m sure there is middle ground, but most CIOs are polarized to one of the two options about vendors.

So how do you get into the Category 1?

If your solution is operational in nature, the CIO may not be the best person to approach. It doesn’t mean that operational issues have gone away, but the CIO does not necessarily have the bandwidth to deal with the jots and tittles of the day to day. (If your adolescent mind is now smirking… I recommend you look this up)

Many of the operational issues should now be in the domain of the Directors and Managers. I suggest you get to know these people, as they will be the ones making the operational decisions, and making recommendations to the CIO. If you approach the CIO with an operational line of products or services, you may immediately be put in Category 2.

In short, we are less concerned about feeds and speeds, and more concerned with trends, partnerships, alliances, capacity, strategy and building great teams to deliver mission critical and differentiating services and systems.

The vendors who are in my particular Category 1 share a few things in common:

• They understand my world, and the issues I face in my industry. They come prepared. (Hint: They do not ask for “a few minutes of my time to understand my IT needs”.)
• They can demonstrate the value they bring in helping me differentiate my organization through technology or specialized services.
• They speak my language.  I don't have to filter out all the marketing hype and buzzwords. 
• They share their product road maps and demo equipment (under non-disclosure) to allow me to better plan my department’s future offerings.
• They provide access to high level support to my developers, engineers and technicians to address issues with their products, rather than making them go through the desolate wasteland of channel support.
• They don’t poach my best people. (This is a quick trip to category 2 if you do so.)

In short, to gain access to the “new” CIO, bring your products and expertise to the table (for a fair price) to help me:

• Add measurable value to my business through technology.
• Deal effectively with BYOD: Giving users a platform that appears as open and accessible as Southern hospitality while remaining as secure as a double-knot tied in wet rawhide. (Thanks Dan Rather)
• Cut through the “Big Data” fluff and get the right information, to the right people, at the right time.
• Develop a highly skilled team.
• Ensure any and all Security and Compliance issues are anticipated and appropriately managed to keep the regulators away.

Do any and all of this, and I (and the other “New” CIOs) will gladly welcome you into Category 1.

About the Author:

Kevin Pashuk is Chief Information Officer for Appleby College, in Oakville, Ontario Canada, where his team is transforming the delivery of education through innovative application of technology.

Kevin is convinced that IT leadership needs to dramatically change how IT is delivered rather than being relegated to a costly overhead department.

In addition to transforming IT in his role as CIO, he looks for every opportunity to talk about this... writing, speaking and now blogging on BeBee, LinkedIn (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kpashuk), ITWorld Canada, or at TurningTechInvisible.com.